Four Old Baseball Gloves

And one that got away...

Opening Day approaches, and I just finished reading “The Baseball Whisperer” by Michael Talbott. It’s a biography about Merl Eberly, the legendary architect of Clarinda A’s baseball starting in 1956. Merl and his wife Pat were tireless in recruiting college players to southwest Iowa to help them improve their skills during an intense two month season. Many future major leaguers lauded Merl Eberly’s coaching and his life lessons for making them better ballplayers and molding them into better men. Ozzie Smith, Von Hayes, Bud Black, Chuck Knoblauch and Cal Eldred all spent summers on Eberly Field in Clarinda, Iowa.

This is a must-read for true baseball fans.

I’ve been remembering my own baseball glory days.

I modeled myself after Harmon Killebrew, the powerful Minnesota Twins first baseman. We had similarities. We were both large framed with (~kinda~) strong biceps (baling hay). We both tried hitting the ball long and hard. He launched a 520 foot home run off Lew Burdette at Metropolitan Stadium. For me, I hit balls occasionally to the highway ditch beyond left field. We were both All-Stars. Thirteen times for Hammerin Harmon. Once for me. I was named to the 1970 Rowley Little League All Star team (we may have only had eleven players…)

Twins slugger Harmon Killebrew. A class act.

Harmon Killebrew struck out a lot and wasn’t very fast. Same with me, so I guess those are the only things we really had in common. I gave up a baseball career for summertime farm labor, earning money to buy Topps baseball cards at Bolton’s Cafe.

Anyway, that’s a long lead into today’s topic. Old baseball gloves!

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I’ve still got my glove from my Rowley Rocket days–or were we the Raiders? Our uniforms were white t-shirts and blue jeans. Baseball spikes? Ha! Our shoes were tennies, either Red Ball Jets or PF Flyers.

My glove is still in decent shape, although the webbing needs reinforced and it could use some mink oil. That’s what Dad always used to waterproof and soften his leather.

A QUALITY PRODUCT OF JAPAN is embossed on the backstrap. The manufacturer’s name has been worn off the cloth label. NYLON STITCHED. FLEX ACTION. Phil Rizzuto’s name has long disappeared from the darkened pocket.

Phil Rizzuto’s signature has worn off of the pocket

I saw a big leaguer keep his index finger outside the glove, so I started doing that. One sunny afternoon, I burned my initials on the glove thumb with a magnifying glass while taking a break from toasting ants. Do kids still do that?

This was a great outfielder’s glove for me, a very average player.

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Since I wrote Barnstorming Babe–A Slugger’s Bumpy Trek Across Small-Town America, I’ve kept my eye out for reasonably priced, vintage baseball gloves.

I spotted one at Raccoon Forks Trading Company, a refurbished 1920s era railroad warehouse now housing an antique store in Des Moines’ East Village. The glove was a Rabbit Maranville model. An infielder known primarily for his defense, he played for a half dozen teams between 1912-1935. He joined the Baseball Hall of Fame six months after his death in 1954.

According to Wikipedia, he was known as one of “baseball’s greatest clowns”, notorious for throwing firecrackers, swallowing goldfish, and drinking until the wee hours.

Placed inside a glass display case, I couldn’t see the price. A worker told me it was $95, which was beyond my budget. But he asked if I had seen the one in the stairway?

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Hanging on the brick wall was a glove from the Babe Ruth era. It lacked lacing above the pocket, even though metal eyelets allowed someone to create webbing by threading a leather strip through the eight holes. But nobody ever did. Nor did lacing tie the fingers together.

Why didn’t anyone ever lace some webbing?

While most of the glove has ample padding, the pocket is darkened and thin. Players in those days caught baseballs in their palm, unlike the webbed gloves used today. It would’ve taken great skill to be a good fielder back then. And catching a ball in your palm would have stung!

Above a metal buckle on the back of the glove, a cloth patch reads “College Athletic Supply Co MILWAUKEE.” “FULL HAND MOLDED PAD” and some indecipherable words ending with “...PALM” are stamped onto the pocket. The front of the glove is GENUINE COWHIDE and the inside is GENUINE HORSEHIDE. I guess they saved GENUINE PIGSKIN for footballs?

I’d love to hear the stories this glove could tell…

My research indicates this is probably from the 1920s, since webbing became more prevalent in the 1930s. The $30 price was right too!

Ozzie Smith holding my 1920s era glove. I snuck my book into the picture and gave him a copy.

I had the honor of meeting Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith in February at the Clarinda A’s baseball banquet. He tried on the glove, and I asked how many gold gloves he would have won for his fielding brilliance if he wore it during his career (1978-1996). “Let’s see, I won thirteen–I probably would have won fourteen,” he joked.

How could anyone field anything wearing something like that? “The glove don’t matter if you got good hands!” Point well taken, Wizard of Oz! And I snagged a picture of him holding it! He’s a truly great guy and returns to Clarinda every winter.

Me in my new Clarinda Athletics tee, modern Twins hat, and “Don’t Be A Dick” button.

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I missed out on my next glove opportunity last week at the Caring Hands second-hand store in Altoona. On their Facebook page one night, they posted a vintage catchers mitt. “$24 on Ebay, $12.00.” This was a Wilson A2562, Virgil Davis signature model. I’d never heard of him before. But in sixteen seasons (1928-1945) “Spud” Davis posted a career .308 batting average–fourth all-time among major league catchers. Very respectable.

:( The glove that got away.

By the time I made it out to Altoona the following morning–fifteen minutes after they opened–someone else had already bought it. But I had a good feeling I’d come across another old glove soon. And I didn’t have to wait long to find two of them!

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I drove home Wednesday after spending five nights in Rowley with my mom. I tried stopping at Hoppy’s Antiques in LaPorte City, where I had bought a nicely priced Edison cylinder record player last year. Google said they were open…but they weren’t.

However, I remembered visiting an antiques place in downtown Traer several years ago. It was on my way home, and they were open!

New owners took over the Retro Rooster shop last year. Gone were the replica metal tractor signs and “World’s Best Grandpa” coffee mugs that seemed to crowd out the antiques the last time I visited. Owner Tom explained they had cleared out all the old inventory and wanted to focus on vintage stuff, even though the oversized contemporary metal sunflowers/roosters/windmills seen in many lawns were popular sellers for the old owners. He brought them back by popular demand.

I found a dozen baseball gloves piled against the back wall. Most were newer. I picked a Little League 1940s era glove with small webbing and no lacing across the finger tips. It was stamped “COAST-TO-COAST STORES,” a popular hardware/variety franchise from the Eisenhower era. A CHET LAABS signature model, SG634.

Who the hell was Chet Laabs? He played outfield for eleven seasons between 1937-1947, primarily for the beleaguered St Louis Browns.

He’s actually famous for two historic games, exactly six years apart. On October 2, 1938, he struck out five times against Bob Feller and allowed the Heater from Van Meter to set a new major league record with 18 strikeouts. Then in 1944, he homered twice against the Yankees in the final game of the season. That allowed the St Louis Browns to clinch their only American League pennant in club history. They lost the World Series to the cross-town Cardinals in six games, then became the Baltimore Orioles in 1954.

My Chet Laabs signature model glove…

Doubling as a William Hartman signature glove!

The Chet Laabs glove is also a “William Hartman” signature model. William wrote his name on it three times, along with his hometown of Owasa (current population 34).

As I was checking out, owner Tom asked if I liked old ball gloves. I said yes, and told him about my Babe Ruth book. It turns out HE was related to Rube Waddell, one of the most eccentric ballplayers of all time. A brilliant Hall of Fame pitcher, his major league career stretched between 1898-1910. He career ERA of 2.61 is eleventh all-time. He led the majors in strikeouts six consecutive times

According to Wikipedia, Waddell was “notably unpredictable.” He left in the middle of ballgames to go fishing or to chase firetrucks. He disappeared for months during the off season, and was found wrestling alligators in a circus. Opposing fans brought puppies to games, which easily distracted him. He also saved a drowning woman, accidentally shot a friend in the hand, and was bitten by a lion.

Waddell’s eccentricities and heavy alcohol use led to a brief thirteen year career. He caught pneumonia while helping assist during a Kentucky flood in 1912, then contracted tuberculosis a year later. He died in a Texas sanitarium, age 37.

Tom said the Waddell branch of his family still had psychological and substance abuse issues. He then left to retrieve a few more gloves from his basement, and I went to my car to fetch him a book.

He brought up a left-handed Wilson model A2147 Lou Boudreau signature glove–with only three fingers!!! I’d never seen or heard of such a creation. Apparently your “eff-you” and ring fingers fit into the middle glove finger, even though the well-padded outside finger looks nearly twice as wide.

A left-handed, three fingered Lou Boudreau signature glove. Bet you don’t have one!

The gloves were apparently popular for younger players, providing more leverage and allowing a tighter grip on a caught ball. They were generally popular in the early to mid 1950s. Since “Old Shufflefoot” (Boudreau’s nickname) played primarily in the 1940s, I’m guessing this may be from 1950 at the latest.

Two vintage gloves, added to my collection for $35.

I’ll plan to bring my three antique gloves with me to my book presentations for show & tell time. Stay tuned for my upcoming 2026 appearances!

In the meantime, the gloves are in decent shape.

I wonder if I should sharpen them up with some mink oil? I’m thinking…no. Coloring the patina erases the stories.

Let me know what you think. And share some pictures and stories of your old gloves!

Thanks for your attention to this matter.